1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of medical imaging and more particularly relate to the processing of interventional radiology images. Embodiment of the present invention further particularly relate to a method and system for allowing the real-time display of the position of a rectilinear instrument, notably a needle, in a region of interest of a patient.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During a surgical operation, a surgeon must insert a needle in a region of interest of a patient, for example, into the patient's spine. To control the insertion of the needle, the surgeon must be able to visualize the region of interest and the instrument used. To do so, the surgeon has a three-dimensional (3D) image of the region of interest in which the needle can be seen.
The 3D image may be obtained by tomographic reconstruction. The 3D image of the region of interest is obtained by acquiring several two-dimensional (2D) images using an X-ray medical imaging system and by determining a 3D image from the acquired 2D images. Monitoring must be ensured in real-time, which means that it is necessary to obtain 3D images of the region of interest in real-time.
One problem is that the determining of a 3D image takes time. In addition, for images obtained by tomography, determining of the 3D image requires the acquisition of numerous 2D images resulting in a non-negligible X-ray dose.